Like the puzzle-solvers, you don’t have to buy them and can even earn them as gifts, but this is where monetization ruins the fun for me. Shamrocks are necessary to unlock certain tucked away stages, but cannot be grabbed during normal gameplay, so it almost forces you to spend cash on these balloons. The problem I do have is with the addition of shamrocks, which can only be obtained by outfitting Om Nom or the candy with balloons-also a separate paid item-so that he can float to the shamrock and claim it. That’s certainly a complaint one could make, but in the same sense it’s also smart design in terms of using the gameplay to generate revenue, and it’s a merit to the gameplay itself that it’s strong enough that people don’t want to give up, even if it means using or paying for these puzzle-solvers. It’s helpful and they give you a few to start out with for free, but as the game becomes more difficult-and although it’s still not necessary to buy them-using them gets a lot more tempting. If you do run into a problematic stage, you can use a solution bug that shows you each swipe step-by-step to complete the stage. It’s not until the fourth and fifth levels where solutions aren’t as obvious, and might lead to some head-scratching. It’s all still physics-based, but much of the first three stages can be completed in a minute or less with very few swipes. The gameplay, while challenging and witty, doesn't strike me as inventive as I’ve seen it in the past, even with these new obstacles The Nommies provide. Last is the aforementioned Blue, that duplicates himself to help Om Nom get through The Scrapyard. Boo, the most creative of the bunch, scares Om Nom into the air at its very sight if spotted in The Underground. Toss has a spring-like head that bounces the candy around the City Park. Lick creates bridges that can drop or block the candy on its way to Om Nom’s mouth in the Sandy Dam. Roto is a little flying bugger that can grab Om Nom or the candy and carry him to other points of the Forest stage. Clearly, there is a focus on taking advantage of the increased resolution of today’s tablet screens in Cut the Rope 2, as the visual leap is quite remarkable.Įach level taking place of the boxes of past games has a certain theme to the design, with each featuring a different Nommie inhabiting it. The Nommies are crisply animated, as are the gorgeous HD backgrounds.
There’s certainly a level of cuteness in their design, from their looks all the way down to the “bump” noise Blues make when you tap on them. They’re not very different from the obstacles in past games, but it’s nice to see that Om Nom isn’t the only strange creature on the block.
You can expect much of the same here, except Om Nom leaves the box and sets out on an outdoor adventure featuring new stages and a few new creatures, The Nommies, that alter the gameplay slightly. Rather, a boo prefers to frighten its predators with a terrifying defence: they jump at them with a terrible grin, wild-eyed and with bone-chilling sounds.In past games, you help Om Nom eat oh-so-tempting candy inside a box by cutting ropes for physics-based fun. Their frightening appearance and large, sharp teeth are not in fact used for hunting - not a single case of a boo attacking another animal has ever been reported. While it is not known where boos came from, all currently known specimens reside in urban ventilation systems. Perhaps the least studied of the newly discovered species, boos are distinguished by their solitary way of life. A scientific name invented by Zeptolab for this species is Dentibus Horrendus (roughly, horrible teeth).įunny, cheerful, prankster, mischievous but not angry. Boo scares Om Nom, making him jump backwards.īoo is a small round dark purple Nommie with sharp teeth.He met Om Nom in the underground and scared him away. Boo is the fifth Nommie helper character in Cut the Rope 2.